Gun Control California

As an unexpected consequence of a gun control law that took effect Jan. 1, the names of people admitted for mental health treatment at California hospitals are being recorded in state law enforcement computers. Although meant to keep firearms away from those who are considered dangerous to themselves or to society, the practice also applies to psychiatric patients who voluntarily check themselves in for treatment and have no history of violent behavior.

Like a lot of people who follow the gun debate, I was surprised to learn earlier this year that for more than a decade, Congress has made it nearly impossible for our premier federal health research institutions to study gun violence. That became evident when President Obama announced his series of executive orders in response to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementaryschool in Newtown, Conn. In one of those orders, he directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other scientific agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services to “conduct or sponsor research into the causes of gun violence and the ways to prevent it.” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, he directed, “shall begin identifying the most pressing research questions with the greatest potential public health impact, and by assessing existing public health interventions being implemented across the Nation to prevent gun violence.” With more than 30,000 gun deaths a year, plus an additional 75,000 or so gun injuries, how is it possible the feds weren't already studying the phenomenon?

The popular Uzi assault rifle is illegal in California under current state law, according to an informal attorney general's office opinion being prepared for county prosecutors and local law enforcement agencies. Chief Deputy Atty. Gen. Nelson Kempsky told The Times Friday that a letter will be sent to local officials across the state next week offering help in prosecutions involving possession or sale of the Uzi carbine.

The national effort to crack down on gun violence being led by President Obama is generating encouraging discussion in Congress, where until recently the subject of gun control had been largely taboo. That's good news. On the minus side, there's what is happening in California. Don't get us wrong, there are some worthwhile bills floating around in Sacramento. But most of the bills either introduced or under proposal seem primarily designed to seize headlines on behalf of individual lawmakers in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre.

Fearing that the U.S. Supreme Court would refuse to hear its case, the National Rifle Assn. has quietly abandoned its two-year federal challenge of the California ban on military-style assault guns, a top NRA executive said Monday. Advocates of gun control said the NRA's failure to pursue the action represented a "major victory" for their side. But the NRA called it only the "end of Round No. 1."

Gun owners who buy, sell and trade rifles and shotguns among themselves apparently are not complying with a new California law--either deliberately or out of ignorance--that requires a 15-day wait before the firearms can change hands. Thousands of gun purchases made from stores and dealers since Jan. 1 have been routinely subjected to the delay to allow for authorities to check backgrounds of buyers. Only 19 private transactions have been reported to the state.

About 200 California police chiefs have descended on Costa Mesa for their annual conference, and according to their president, their big worry is that they are falling behind in the arms race. Military assault rifles, like the Chinese-made AK-47 semiautomatic used by a gunman to kill five schoolchildren in Stockton last month, are pouring into the country and into the hands of gang members and drug dealers," said Craig L.

Jim Waldorf only made it to 11th grade, but there is no disputing his success. He is chief executive of Lorcin Engineering Co., which, despite its name, is a leading maker of the cheap handguns known as Saturday night specials. He has made up to $900,000 per year and has a multimillion-dollar net worth. He has also written a book, "Landing on Your Feet," that is an evangelical appeal to victims of corporate downsizing to pursue the entrepreneurial path.

In a nationally watched gun control case, a federal court judge has thrown out a challenge by the National Rifle Assn. to California's landmark ban on military-style assault weapons. In a decision made public on Monday, U.S. District Judge Edward Dean Price in Fresno dismissed the lawsuit which sought, among other things, to strike down the 1989 law on grounds it violated the Constitution's 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.

Senate leader David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), declaring that "innocents are being killed," Tuesday proposed gun control legislation that would outlaw the sale of semiautomatic military weapons favored by street gangs. Roberti listed the bill as the top priority on his "Agenda for the People," a list of goals he hopes Gov. George Deukmejian and the Legislature will enact at the session starting Jan. 3.

As Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer sees it, if a bill now before Gov. Gray Davis had been the law, white supremacist Buford Furrow might have been prevented from killing a postal worker and wounding five people at a San Fernando Valley Jewish community center in 1999. If the bill had been the law, Lockyer reasons, former Los Angeles Police Officer Angela Marie Shepard might still be free instead of locked in jail and facing a murder charge in the Aug. 26 shooting of a former USC basketball player.

As the recent spate of mass killings has made clear, even California's much-touted gun-control laws can do little to keep firearms and ammunition away from criminals bent on murder. State laws that ban assault weapons and limit handgun purchases, as well as tough penalties for gun-related crimes, did not stop Joseph Ferguson, the 20-year-old Sacramento security guard who authorities say stalked and killed five people last weekend.

Don't call it a "license." Call it a "permit." Better yet, a "safety certificate." With that semantical tweak, you just might get Gov. Gray Davis' signature on what's left of a bill to license handgun buyers. Probably get it, in fact. But it's still not a done deal. "I guess 'license' is a little more inflammatory than 'safety certificate,' " notes Sen. Jack Scott (D-Altadena), author of the bill. "I'm not interested in what we call it. I'm interested in what it does." This is the No.

Guns that are nearly identical to assault weapons banned in California are legal unless they were outlawed by name or have specific assault weapon characteristics, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday. Chief Justice Ronald M. George, in a strongly worded dissent, accused the high court's majority of creating a loophole in the state's assault weapons ban that could allow copycat weapons to circulate.

Just two hours before shots were fired yet again at a California high school Thursday, the state Assembly passed the first bill of the year dealing with firearms, a measure banning the sale of guns from homes. The legislation, which did not receive a single Republican vote, exempts gun dealers in counties with fewer than 100,000 people and those who sell firearms defined as curios or relics. If passed by the Senate and signed by Gov.

California's gun control law appears to have had a moderate impact on reducing additional violent crimes by people convicted of gun-related offenses, public health researchers at UC Davis reported in a new study. The researchers examined the criminal records of 1,654 people who had been convicted of gun-related misdemeanors and subsequently tried to buy handguns in California between 1989 and 1993.

The head of one of the largest gun stores in Orange County announced Friday that he will stop selling military assault weapons like the AK-47 rifle that was used to kill five elementary school pupils in Stockton. Randy Garell, president of The Grant Boys store in Costa Mesa, said retail gun dealers must "wake up and face facts." "It's about time someone takes a stand," said Garell, who also sells camping and outdoor gear.

The Assembly on Thursday passed and sent to the governor's desk legislation aimed at tightening security at gun-making plants that produce so-called Saturday night specials. Factories that manufacture most of the inexpensive weapons are in Southern California and are known as the Ring of Fire. Together, they produce 80% of the nation's inexpensive handguns.

A year after Gov. Gray Davis called for a "timeout" on new gun control laws, Democratic lawmakers are reviving efforts to require the licensing of all handguns in California. Assembly Majority Leader Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation, AB 35, that would establish a licensing system. In the upper house, state Sen. Jack Scott (D-Altadena) has introduced a similar measure, SB 52.

In addition to tackling the state's energy crisis, California lawmakers this year will carve out new legislative and congressional districts, a key political exercise based on results of the U.S. Census. Republicans realize they are not likely to fare well in the reapportionment, given their minority status in the Legislature. Among Republicans' top priorities is maintaining unity in both houses so they can fight any Democratic gerrymandering.